BlackBerry, Baidu To Collaborate On Deployment Of Autonomous Vehicle Technology

(RTTNews) - BlackBerry Limited (BB, BB.TO) and Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) announced the companies have signed a statement of intent to make BlackBerry QNX's ISO26262 ASIL-D certified safety operating system the foundation for Baidu's Apollo autonomous driving open platform. BlackBerry and Baidu will work together to integrate Baidu's CarLife smartphone integration software for connected cars in China, as well as its conversational AI system DuerOS, and high definition maps to run on the BlackBerry QNX Car Platform.

"Joining forces with Baidu will enable us to explore integration opportunities for multiple vehicle subsystems including ADAS, infotainment, gateways, and cloud services." said John Wall, Senior Vice President and GM of BlackBerry QNX.

Li Zhenyu, General Manager of Intelligent Driving Group, Baidu, said: "By integrating the BlackBerry QNX OS with the Apollo platform, we will enable carmakers to leap from prototype to production systems. Together, we will work toward a technological and commercial ecosystem for autonomous driving, intelligent connectivity, and intelligent traffic systems."